5 reasons why San Jose Sharks will win Stanley Cup

3. Brent Burns

Brent Burns is the best defenseman in the playoffs. The reigning Norris Trophy winner backed up his award-winning season with another strong year in in teal. He finished one point behind John Carlson for the league lead in points by a defenseman, and once again paced all blue liners in shots.

In the past two seasons, no defenseman has scored more points (143), goals (41) or had more shots (652) than Burns. The next closest defender in shots, Dougie Hamilton, has 160 fewer shots on goal than Brent Burns in the same timeframe. He’s a beast, figuratively and literally.

Burns has become a shot-generating machine for San Jose. A large portion of the Sharks’ offense runs through him. If you take one look at the Sharks heat map, his impact is unavoidable.

Burns has 324 more shots on goal than any other Sharks player in the last three years. He’s one of two defensemen in the league to lead their team in points since 2015-16. There might not be a more valuable player to his team in the playoffs than Brent Burns.